


Saudade

by resolvesession



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Modern Era, Moving On, Romance, Slow Burn, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:36:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29983659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/resolvesession/pseuds/resolvesession
Summary: “I had all, then most of you. Some, then none of you.”In which, Ino is gone and Neji struggles to move on. Tenten attempts to heal him. [Modern AU]
Relationships: Hyuuga Neji/Tenten, Hyuuga Neji/Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

The clock has hit the dreaded 1 pm long ago, yet Neji hasn’t moved an inch from his seat. Promising himself over the weekend that lunches were not to be skipped any longer, he finds himself lacking the motivation to follow through with that promise. Who needs lunch anyway? Not him.

Instead of food, his body is itching to be busy again, to consume the paperwork, to drown himself in worksheets once more. The problem is, he has finished his jobs long ago, being the overachiever he has always been. The project that’s due in one week? It’s completed. The meeting with his staff? Also done. The presentation for their upcoming client? You guessed it–covered. All the tasks he needs done are already finished, yet he craves something to keep him busy till it’s time to go home. 

Hinata scolded him–if scolded was even the right word to describe it–days ago about it too. ‘You work too much, Neji, dear. Please don’t let that distract you from eating all your meals. Come have lunch with me sometime, too.’

He had promised he would, but it’s been maybe a month or two–he can’t tell–since then and he has failed to ever meet up with her during one of his lunch breaks. 

If  _ she _ had been here, she would’ve scolded–no, talked his ear off about how food was so important and all meals were never to be skipped. The stubborn girl didn’t practice what she preached though, except Neji couldn’t call her out on something he himself didn’t do. So all that was left to do back then was to sit down together and eat with each other. However, she’s not here to chastise him and annoy him to the point that he eats. She’s not here to bicker with him while they struggle to agree on what to eat. She’s not here to sit down on the floor of his apartment and eat slowly while feeding him occasionally, despite his protests. 

She’s not here. 

So everything would be done according to his own rules. With his work done and his lunch break long forgotten, he wonders what he can fill his time with, until it’s time to go home. 

But if he’s being honest, he doesn’t really wonder. At the back of his mind, there’s something he knows he wants to do, desperately so, but he’s been putting it off for a few days now as if to spare the last bit of sanity he has left. It’s a sad try at both passing time and remembering her, but if he doesn’t allow himself to overthink it–then Neji doesn’t mind. As agonizing and melancholic as it is, he never minds. Not when it comes to her.

At the thought of her, his tired eyes immediately avert to the last drawer of his desk. It’s an odd and maybe obvious hiding place, but in his defense, who would even think of searching the last drawer? All his important work files were elsewhere. Not that the drawer’s contents weren’t important. They are. To him at least, but no one else needs to know. It’s between him and her.

However, just in case anyone got too curious, the drawer was secured with a lock too.  _ Extra security _ , he thought. A man could never be too cautious when it came to things he valued. Or too paranoid. Finding a place to hide his key had been the really tricky part, though. Not trusting the books resting soundly on his large bookcase or the pot of his close-to-death dracaena plant, he had settled to keep the key with him at all times. If  _ she _ had been here, she would’ve laughed at his paranoia and called him silly like she always did. Knowing her, Neji assumed she would’ve put the key somewhere so obvious where he and anyone with a brain would be able to find it in under five minutes.  _ Like under the carpet.  _ Who hides keys under carpets?  _ She did.  _

Reaching into the inner pocket of his suit to find the said key, he finds it with ease. He stares at it for a while, it’s so small, silver, fragile. For some reason, it reminds him of her characteristics.  _ Like her.  _

A voice at the back of his head tells him he’s gone crazy, so maybe today is not a good day to do this. He’s comparing her to a  _ goddamn key _ . It continues to tell him to not do it, he can busy himself with work again, he can go over his finished work one more time, he can even go out to have that fucking lunch, anything but this. The voice’s suggestions go ignored as Neji puts the key in and turns it gently. The man has worked enough for the day. It’s time he gets his very much needed break. 

The secret drawer opens unceremoniously, revealing a baby blue camera, and some photos scattered around.

It had been  _ her  _ camera. It wasn’t the best quality out there; she had gotten it as a joke during her sophomore year; she had told him. That joke soon had turned into memories when she had moved away, the memories were full of her friends. It had been one of those things she had gotten attached to; hence why she couldn’t get rid of it. The camera was full of the most random photos ever, Neji had seen it himself. Blurry photos of her, random shots of sunsets and color stained skies, pictures of her friends in high school, Hinata, Sakura, Shikamaru, Choji, even Naruto was there, pics of the places she had been to, foods she had eaten and drinks she had drank, and the more recent ones (if he could call them that) there were pics of him. 

He had taken two photos of her too. One she had pestered him to take while they had been on their beach date. She had thought she looked cute. She did, she looked beautiful even, but Neji had refused to admit it to her back then, being the jerk that he used to be. Taking the picture was the least he could do. The other photo he had taken himself, without her nagging him to do it (surprisingly!) while she had been painting in his apartment. He himself didn’t know why he did it. She had looked so focused, so ethereal, her platinum hair cascading down her face and shoulders while the sun showered her in it’s golden hues, it would’ve been a crime to not capture that.  _ “You’re so golden,”  _ he had whispered, staring at her afterwards in awe. Her paintbrush had stopped moving, she had glanced at him, giving him one of the softest smiles she could muster. 

  
  


Memories tend to fade, but that pure smile of hers had been engraved deep in his mind. Over a year later and he could still remember it as if it had happened yesterday.  _ Her golden smile.  _

  
  


Those two photographs are the only ones he has printed. He felt like he would be invading her privacy if he printed the ones she had taken of her friends or of the places or even of her (stupid thought, he knew, considering the fact that he had looked at them several times already). They were too personal; they were hers. Belonging to a time when he hadn’t been a part of her life, Neji felt out of place owning them. The ones he had been in though, he felt he had at least the permission to keep with him at all times. 

  
  


Something to remind him. 

  
  


Of what he had. 

  
  


Of what he lost. 

  
  


Of memories. 

  
  


Of  _ her _ .

Neji had printed none of the pics she had taken of him either. He didn’t need to. He stared at his own face every day, each day with more and more disappointment. The man that looked at him back in the mirror was only a mere shell of what the man in the photographs used to be. He had changed; he knew this. His grumpy face seemed the same, his annoyed expression was still in its usual place, but yet his eyes were lit up; his several attempts to hide or remove the smile forming at the corner of his lips were also visible. The man in the photographs had been another version of himself, maybe a younger, happier, foolisher self. He missed it. Both him and her. He had lost the two of them in such a short matter of time. 

This whole thing isn’t about him, though. He may have lost a part of himself, but he still has some other parts left. He still sees his own face each and every day. So no, he didn’t need to print his own photographs.

Hers, on the other side, is a different story. Neji needed to print hers. Maybe it was simply his yearning to see her again, or his deep-buried fear that he would forget what she looked like eventually, if he didn’t look at her pictures constantly. He felt those two photos captured her best, in her best angles and moments, showcasing her the same way he had seen her long ago. It was bittersweet to him, having those physically with him at all times, but Neji wouldn’t have it any other way. 

It stings deep inside in his soul to look at her smiling face; he feels his stomach drop at the idea of how happy she had seemed and how badly things had turned out. However, Neji knows. Sulking and wondering what he did wrong won’t bring her back. 

The pictures inside the drawer stare at him with a bored look.  _ It’s you again, huh?  _

But before he can take them delicately in his hands to stare at them for minutes and wallow himself in sadness and self-pity, his work phone rings. His hand retreats to answer it. His secretary is on the line. 

“Mr Hyūga, a friend of yours is here to visit you.” 

As soon as he hears the word friend, he frowns. Friends coming to visit him means trouble for Neji, means one of them has gotten fed up with him and his attempts to skip whatever gatherings they had planned and distance himself. They recognize he’s going through it, Neji knows they know too, yet he wishes they didn’t. He can’t stand the pitiful looks or the comforting words they try to say or the way some ignore the fact she ever existed. It’s hurtful and makes him want to keep all this to himself. It’s his business and his business only. 

“Who is it?” he asks, bracing himself for the worst. It may be Lee or Naruto, he assumes. It’s always those two. The answer he gets back surprises him.

“She said her name is Tenten. Should I let her in?” 

Tenten. To say Neji hasn’t seen her in a while would be an understatement. The girl had been gone for so long doing god knows what, but Neji hadn’t bothered to reach out to her either. Yet now, she is here, wanting to meet him. He wonders what she wants to talk about. 

Leaving the thoughts for another time, he shuts the drawer and puts the lock in, knowing if his friend sees it, she’ll get curious. And photos of his ex girlfriend are probably the last thing she wants to look at now. 

“Yes, let her in,” he remembers to reply after he puts the key back in his pocket where it belongs. 

He can hear two quick knocks on his door before it opens, revealing Tenten. The brunette is smiley, he notices, maybe she’s not here to yell at him this time. 

“Hi Neji,” she beams cheerfully, closing the door behind her. The button white shirt she’s wearing is tucked in her high-waisted brown pants, while her hair is still up in her two significant buns. 

“What are you doing here?” he asks without thinking twice, regretting it immediately.  _ Way to sound like an asshole, Neji. _

She shoots him a look of disapproval, placing a hand on her heart. “What, not even a ‘hello nice to see you too,’? Am I bothering you?” 

“No, not really. I’ve finished work for today, I was-” but she interrupts him before he can finish.

“Calm down, _ silly _ ,” he frowns at the nickname, _ she _ used to call him that, “I was just joking.” 

“You still haven’t answered my question, though.” 

Tenten raises an eyebrow, putting a hand on her hip and  _ still  _ not answering his question, “Still as grumpy as ever, I see.”

He closes his eyes in attempts to calm himself down and not repeat his question. She laughs. 

“I thought I’d come and visit you. It’s been a while since we last saw each other. I missed you.” 

And she, of course, was right. He knew it had been weeks since he last met her in person, or any of their other friends for that matter; and as much as he felt bad about it, he couldn’t bring himself to contact any of them. He liked the bubble he had created with only him and memories of her. It seemed safe, untouched. It felt different from the despairing reality of his life that was filled with work, loneliness, more work and her absence. She was gone. Being in the presence of their old friend group only served to remind him of her, how she was the light of it and how she was gone. 

“Indeed, it’s been a while. I guess I’ve just been too busy,” he finally replies. 

She gives him a knowing smile, but Neji knows she doesn’t buy it. She never does. “Right, you’re always so busy. Well, anyway, that’s why I’m here. You said you’re on your break right now, right?” 

He nods, she crosses her arms. “I don’t see you eating lunch, though?” 

“Oh, I don’t really eat lunch,” he responds, considering the wall behind her more interesting as he refuses to make eye contact with the girl, “too busy.”

“God,” Tenten groans, “this work is gonna be the death of you. What good will it be to you when you’re dead from malnutrition?” she pauses to stare at him as if to weigh out her options before continuing, “Since you’re on your break and haven’t eaten anything and we haven’t had time to catch up, how about you grab a coffee with me?” 

There is the dreaded invitation to hang out that Neji was hoping she’d be too proud to articulate. She wasn’t.

“I’d really love to but-” he started, but she immediately interrupted him, shaking her head. 

“I know you’re gonna come up with some lame excuse now, Neji. The thing is, I wasn’t asking. You’re coming with me,” she walks over to his desk, “You’ve been cooped up in here and I’ll be damned if I let you lose yourself in this cave of yours. Come, we’re going out.” she demands, grabbing his arm in the process. 

Her grip on his arm is strong, though he could get out of it easily if he tried, but Neji supposes he’s pushing it. Weeks of avoiding all his friends are starting to come back to bite him in the ass. Damn women and their bossy attitudes. Maybe a coffee and some New York polluted air wouldn’t hurt. 

His secretary’s offer to bring them coffee downstairs from the cafeteria in their building is immediately refused by Tenten, who without a second thought raises her hand in the air and mutters something about Neji having to go out for once. The secretary looks at Neji in confusion, but he signals her it’s all under control. Or so he hopes. 

“You know,” Neji starts to say as soon as they enter the elevator, “our cafeteria is just fine. We can get coffee there.”

Her thumb punches the ground button ruthlessly, her eyes giving him a stern look in the process. “No. We are going out.”

Raising an eyebrow at that, Neji notices the girl slightly getting nervous. He knows why, of course, yet he chooses to ignore it. His eyebrow, however, stays up, triggering a reaction from her. 

“Not like that, you idiot.” she rushes to say while Neji murmurs a “Right.”

Of course it’s not like that. Neji knows. It’s never been like that, ever since  _ she _ came into the picture.

Tenten knows too. 

As soon as they are out of the building, she grabs his arm and leads the way. Can’t let him get away or take her to one of those snobbish cafes. Tenten would be caught dead before she enters one of those. 

“We could drive there, Tenten. Cars were invented for a reason,” Neji comments, trying to avoid walking, but Tenten still won’t budge. The girl is still as stubborn as ever. 

“Shut up, you lazy ass. A bit of walking won’t kill you. Actually, it will do you well. We should work out together too, sometimes. Or we can go running.”

There it is, another invitation. 

“Of course,” he says, ironically or not, he doesn’t know. All he knows is that he doesn’t want to go. Wallowing in despair and deafening loneliness are waiting at home for him to return. 

The walk which Neji hopes doesn’t last too long–he has _ things _ to do, after all–suddenly starts to seem familiar. He notices a pattern; he has walked these steps before; he knows the way. 

After giving Tenten a side glance, he wants to ask her where they’re going, just to confirm his suspicions. He wonders if she knows. He hopes she doesn’t. 

Left, right, straight ahead. 

Right. 

Right again. 

He stops.

They’re in front of the last place Neji wants to be at the moment. 

Tenten stops too and looks at him, giving him a small sincere smile. “It’s a really nice cafe! Hinata told me about it once and I’ve come here ever since.” 

But her words fail to reach him. 

He’s already rushing to enter the cafe. As soon as the door opens, the suffocatingly delicate smell of freshly made coffee enters his nostrils, taking him back to the time he first saw  _ her _ .

* * *

“Neji? Do you want to order now?” Tenten’s voice snaps him out of his daze. He glances at her, finally noticing she had followed him into the cafe. Remembering why they are there in the first place, he nods, tells her to order him whatever coffee she wants and rushes to sit at the first table he finds free. 

To say that being here after so long is overwhelming, would be an understatement. After she had left, he had never even thought about this place, let alone come to visit it. It felt sweet, bitter, being at the place where it all had started, where he had first caught a glimpse of her. Granted, she had come for Hinata’s engagement back then so they were bound to meet or to at least see each other, even if it was from afar, at least once. It was fate. Fate wanted them to meet. And yet, it was this small in-the-middle-of-giant-buildings cafe that offered them their sweet first meet. 

“Still thinking about those paperworks you left unfinished?” Tenten asks him as soon as she’s back from ordering their coffees.. She pulls a chair and sits opposite him, wondering why the man is so lost in thoughts. “Don’t worry, no one’s gonna steal them from you.”

Neji gives her an annoying glare, but doesn’t respond, nonetheless. Tenten rolls her eyes. 

“If I wanted to talk to the walls, I would’ve just come here alone, Neji.” 

He gives her a slight smirk, “Maybe you should have.” 

“Oh, I have, plenty of times. I just thought a change would be nice for once.” 

Her statement is full of humor, but the sad undertones don’t escape Neji’s ears. It tells him how the girl has been lonely too–most of them have–now that they’ve gone their separate ways. He knows, yet it wakes a void, deep inside him. It’s empty, something is missing. The glue that held them all together. 

As much as he feels sadness for his fellow friend, opening sad discussions or comforting people has never been his forte. The boy, now man, has always been the one to be an asshole and tell others to just suck it up; life gets like that sometimes. But simply because he’s a man now, he can’t go back to his old arrogant ways. Being nice or showing empathy aren’t his strong points either, so he settles for what he’s learned to do this whole time: to ignore. Perhaps it’s not the right or the mature thing to do, but Neji simply does what works for him. This works for him. She’s fine. They all are. 

“So what did you order for me?” he asks, in attempts to change the topic, however, after seeing her suspiciously cheerful reaction, he regrets everything.

“I got you a Pumpkin Spice Latte,” she replies, happier than ever. Neji wants to pull his own hair out. 

“I thought you knew I don’t like those.”

“I knew,” she smiles, “I just wanted you to try it.” 

He groans, not in the mood to eat or drink anything sweet. Silence ensues.

“So how has your life been?” Tenten asks after a while. It’s a sad attempt at breaking the awkward silence, but an attempt nonetheless. Neji can’t say he’s doing the same. He shoots her a look as if questioning if she’s genuinely asking him that. How could his life be? 

He settles for a quick answer. “It’s been fine.”

The girl raises an eyebrow in response. “Really? That’s it? Nothing too exciting? No new friends? Girlfriend? Romance? Nothing?” 

Neji’s expression remains unfigurable, but Tenten knows she’s hit a nerve, when she notices him not responding, but still giving her a stare. 

Girlfriend. 

Romance. 

The words linger in his mind longer than they should.

“No,” he replies simply, but that turns out to be not enough for the displeased girl in front of him. 

“No? Come on, I’m sure you must’ve had a girlfriend. Or a hook-up. Or friends with benefits. Whatever works for you, really. I won’t judge,” she says, giving him a reassuring smile. 

Neji knows she won’t judge. There’s nothing to judge in the first place. 

“None of that. I haven’t had a girlfriend since… a long time.” 

‘Since  _ her’  _ he wants to say, but the words don’t make the cut. They go unsaid, although he’s aware Tenten has realized it in no time. They had been close, Tenten and her, knowing each other for longer than Neji knew her. Acting like two parallel lines, the girls had gotten on so well with each other, always being in sync, seeming like two roads that would never cross or go against each other. 

But life works in strange ways. The parallel lines had crossed. 

“You really are married to your job, huh?” she replies after a while, trying to alter the topic which Neji is more than thankful for. 

“It’s really important to me. I’ve worked a lot to get to where i am today.” 

She waves her hand dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, I know. But it wouldn’t hurt to form new relationships outside your work. You’re still young, you need to meet more people.” 

He thinks the people he has met so far are more than enough to last him a lifetime, not because he’s that loyal, but because they are. They wouldn’t leave him alone. Part of him is aware he’s taking them for granted, yet a part of him hopes they don’t give up on him. He’s got it together. A bit more time is all he needs. 

The barista saves him from having to reply to Tenten as she announces that their order is done and he couldn’t be more grateful. 

“I’ll go get them,” she says, getting up from her seat, leaving Neji alone to sigh. He can’t wait to go home. 

In a few seconds, she’s back. The dreadful pumpkin spice latte that he doesn’t want to see at the moment is in neither of her hands. He shoots her a questioning look, having expected her to follow through with her word. The girl sends him a smile back.

“I was just messing with you.” 

“I’ve never been happier you were,” he replies, earning a chuckle from her as she sets his coffee in front of him. Both their focus is on the coffees in front of them as no one speaks for a while. At some point, he even notices her scrolling mindlessly on her phone while sipping coffee occasionally. Their short meetup is coming to an end.

* * *

“We should meet up more often,” Tenten says as they leave the cafe. Neji has to get back to his office, she has to go somewhere, she says. Where, Neji doesn’t bother to ask.

“Of course,” he replies, his answer coming off more sarcastic than he intended it to, causing her to frown. 

“I’m serious,” she continues, “Not just us two, but everyone. Hinata and Naruto and Lee and Sakura, everyone. Just like the old times.”

“You should talk to them about that, then. Not me. You know where to find me.”

She puts a hand on her hip, sighing. “I will, okay? I’ll talk to them. Just promise me you’ll come without me having to drag you there.”

Neji finally chuckles as if to reassure her, yet he doesn’t know if he wants to make a promise he may not be able to keep. 

“It’ll all depend on my schedule. But I’ll come if I’m not busy.”

“Yeah, you better,” she huffs, “so goodbye?”

“See you,” he replies, turning around to leave in the other direction, without even letting the girl hug him goodbye. Tenten resists the urge to physically fight him. He may be an asshole, but he’s way taller and possibly stronger than her by now. She can’t beat him up even if she tried. Still, as she watches him leave, she hopes this isn’t the last time they meet. It isn’t. 

She won’t let that happen. 

* * *

At 6 pm Neji is finally home. It’s been a long, long day, maybe longer than his usual days (Tenten surely has something to do with that) but he’s never been happier to be home, if happy is even the right word. If not happy, he’s at least at peace. He’s alone, no work, no people, just him and his house. The house, however, greets him coldly. Maybe it’s the windows he left open before going to work that bring the chilling air inside, maybe it’s the emptiness of the rooms that have been staying alone for a while now, or maybe it’s the deafening silence, since there’s no one there to disrupt that silence. 

The cold from outside sends shivers down his spine, so he convinces himself, it’s simply the open windows that are to blame for the chilly approach of his apartment. He rushes to close them, not even stopping to spare a glance at the ongoing busy life outside his house. 

Today was… weird. That’s all Neji can say about it. Meeting Tenten was weird, he hasn’t seen her in months, yet their relationship dynamic is almost the same. They both–especially him–have changed during the time they haven’t seen each other and yet, their relationship hasn’t. He doesn’t know why, but he’s glad.

With Tenten coming back, Neji knows it won’t take long before the others start gathering too. He is certain the brunette will stay true to her word and really attempt to make everything the way it was before. Determined as she is, when Tenten wants something, she gets it done herself. And if he’s being honest with himself, he doesn’t want to meet anyone or gather anywhere. All he wants is to continue his life the way he’s been living it these past months, with no interfering from his friends. 

As he realizes he’s been standing in the middle of his living room, he figures he can overthink about this later. First, he needs a change of clothes and some food. Going into his room to undress, he suddenly feels a chilly breeze brush past him. 

Weird. He remembers closing this window, but as he stares straight ahead, he notices it’s still open. 

Maybe his memory is failing him, he resonates, maybe he was too tired to notice he hadn’t closed this one. Whatever it is, Neji figures it’s not worthy of his attention; he should just change. 

With the business suit and tie long gone, he finally feels at peace in his sweats. Strolling to the kitchen to make a meal, he wonders what he should cook. As he stands still trying to decide on a meal, he notices the small cactus on the sill of the kitchen window. The cactus she had gotten him. For a moment he’s glad it hasn’t died yet, till he remembers cactuses don’t need much water to survive, which Neji is more than glad for, since he’d forget to water it more times than he’s willing to admit. She seemed to have known that, that’s why she had gotten him something that didn’t require him to look a lot after. She knew him so well. 

As he stares at the small “grow it for me” accompanied by a tiny heart, written in her delicate handwriting at the front of the white vase, he sighs. 

The cactus has grown, not thanks to Neji, but it made it out on his own. His wistfulness for her has grown together with that cactus too. 

The air grows colder.

‘I miss you’ the words go unsaid as he closes his eyes, letting out a deep, deep sigh, as there’s nothing he can do about this now, ‘I miss you so much.’


	2. Interlude 1

Light as a feather was she, when he first saw her. Contagious smile on her face and burning hot coffee in her hand, she had run into him. His arrogant side had gotten annoyed immediately, wanting to scold her. A simple girl like her ought to be more careful than to run into strangers and risk spilling hot bitter liquid on them, that would surely leave first-degree burns.

Getting burned on an early Sunday morning wasn’t on Neji’s agenda.

  
  


(Later he would find out she was indeed careless. Not the negligent and irresponsible kind that Neji had first thought of her, but the carefree soul that didn’t worry herself sick about the future and what was going to happen. She did not bother herself. All she had cared about was living in the moment and enjoying that moment to the fullest, since one day it would be gone. Everything else was not on her list. Neji thought he had made it there at some point in their story. Oh, how wrong had he been.)

Had he told her about his first-degree burn concept, he would’ve gotten the chance to see a light eyebrow raise and could’ve heard her heartfelt laugh. However, not giving him time to even react, let alone respond with something witty, the cheerful girl had muttered a “Sorry” and a “Thank god I didn’t spill it  _ this time _ ,” (which gave Neji the idea that this was a  _ daily _ occurrence) and finally had given him one of her genuine apologetic smiles. 

Just like that she was gone like the wind, her sunny hair flowing behind her, leaving him no time to scold her or to make his smart remark. 

That’s okay, Neji didn’t feel like arguing with a mere teenager first thing in the morning, anyway.

As surprised (and angry) as he was by this first encounter, he decided to pay no mind to it for longer than he already had. His time was precious and he wouldn’t waste it on such trivial matters. She was a simple girl; that was it, he saw simple girls all the time, everywhere he went. Other than her lingering scent, everything else of hers was gone. 

That remaining scent, which consisted of lavender and vanilla, engraved itself deep inside his mind. 

After the girl fled, he placed his order quickly, wanting nothing more than to grab his coffee and get out of there. He had chosen a not well-known cafe purposely; it wasn’t supposed to be very crowded, so he’d be able to get his damn coffee fast. 

Surprisingly, he had been wrong. The cafe was quite crowded for such a small and unknown place. Neji figured it was because it was Sunday. A server had offered to sit him down at a table, but he had refused, choosing to just lean on the wall for support and wait for his much-needed coffee. 

Waiting wasn’t something Neji Hyuga minded. What he did mind, however, was the boredom it brought. He couldn’t just waste time not doing anything; he had to occupy himself with something, no matter how unimportant it was. So, he settled for giving a brief look over the people sitting on the tables. Admitting it to himself was out of question, but inside him Neji knew he was searching for a flash of shiny blonde hair. He found one, two, only that it wasn’t her. The hair was too short, too dark,  _ too not her _ . 

Maybe she had really left. The girl seemed to be in a hurry, hence almost spilling her coffee on him. As he gave up on ever finding her again, his eyes caught someone else in the process. Unmistakingly signature midnight blue hair and light eyes, much similar to those of his own. His cousin. 

She was sitting alone in the shop’s corner, although Neji’s eyes scanned two coffee cups on her table, one in front of her, and one opposite her. The owner of the second coffee was nowhere in sight; though Neji assumed they would come back soon. Till they came back, he could go and keep her company. After all, it would seem rude to see his cousin and not talk to her.

So he started going her way. “Hinata,” he called lowly when he was close enough, hoping she’d hear. Being soft spoken herself, she’d mastered the art of hearing indistinct sounds, making her turn in his direction almost immediately. Her face lit up. “Neji! What a lovely surprise to see you here!” 

He nodded. “Likewise. I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“Oh, I’m just here to meet a friend,” Hinata explained, gesturing towards the empty seat in front of her, “She lives in California now, but she came back for my engagement. I think I told you about her?”

Vague memories of different names and faces ran through Neji’s mind, trying to remember whether his cousin had mentioned anything about any of her friends coming to visit her for her engagement, but after a while his mind went blank. She had so many friends visiting for her engagement; it was a big deal, after all, so how was he supposed to know all of them? Since he couldn’t recall, he just settled for giving her a shrug. 

“You don’t remember?” she asked, untroubled, “That’s okay, she’s here now, so you can meet her. She’s a great friend of mine.” 

Neji nodded once more. “What’s her name?”

“It’s Ino. Ino Yamanaka,” Hinata replied cheerfully.

Ino Yamanaka. Such a strange name. 

As familiar as it sounded to Neji, he couldn’t quite put his finger on where he’d heard it or what she looked like. 

However, before he could ask more about her or even meet said girl, the barista called his name for his order. That was the signal that he had to leave. “My apologies, Hinata. My order’s done, and I only stopped by to get coffee. I really gotta go, but I’m sure I can meet her another time, though.” 

“Of course,” she replied, “she’ll be here all summer so there’ll be plenty of chances to meet her.” 

Neji gave her one last nod of affirmation, bid his goodbye to his cousin and left to go fetch his coffee. As the scent hit his nostrils, he felt at peace; now he could get back to studying. Going towards the door to leave, something urged him to turn around and to take a look one last time at his cousin’s table. 

That’s when he saw  _ her. _

Pale blonde hair, slim figure, apologetic smile as she was explaining something to Hinata. The same apologetic smile she had given him when she almost spilled her coffee on him. It was the same girl. 

As if sensing that she was being stared at, her eyes shifted slightly, catching Neji in the act. She gave him a brief look before turning her attention back to Hinata, and that was Neji’s cue to turn around and leave as soon as possible. 

It was her. 

Ino Yamanaka. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone! i just wanna thank whoever viewed and gave kudos to this story, i really appreciate you all <3 i also made a playlist that i listen to while writing this, because i feel it relates to the story and also gives me more inspiration to write. if anyone wants to check it out or listen to it while reading, please tell me and i'll link it in the next chapter. you can also find the story on ffnet! that being said, i hope you enjoyed the story!! thank you once again


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